connection

My Poem “Always With Me”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Every day, I climb the hill
to stand alongside, to speak to,
and to hear the voice of my Dad -
as I always have, and as I always will,
because my Dad will always be
the golden light that guides my way...
every day, I feel like my Dad is still with me -
because he is;
wherever I look at a photograph of my Dad
I know that he is standing alongside me,
with an arm around me,
as he whispers his lasting wish:
"Be there for those who matter the most"...
every day, when I am with my Dad
the sound of birdsong can be heard all around,
and often times a robin or a pair of magpies
visits also and sings in a nearby tree,
which always makes me smile
at the same time that I start to cry...
every day, I tell my Dad I love him and I miss him
and I feel the touch of love
from my Dad that I always felt
when I looked into his eyes,
when in my mind I felt our unique connection -
which is why I will always remember,
and why I will always reflect upon,
what my Dad did for me
and what he will always mean to me -
and even now, every day, and forever
I know more than ever
that even though my Dad
may now rest atop the hill,
what made him who has was,
who he is, and who he will always be,
will always be with me
wherever I go.
Advertisement

My Poem “True Empathy”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , 
People sometimes say
that you can't fake chemistry...
People sometimes say
that opposites attract...
People sometimes say
that they don't like poetry...
People sometimes say
that there is no one more perfect person
to talk to than someone who "gets you" -
someone who understands you,
someone who does not judge,
someone who believes in you,
someone who is intrigued by you,
someone who sees themselves you,
someone who is on the same path as you -
because, like you, they are
in every way a kindred soul
and a fellow empath.

People are sometimes drawn together...
people cannot live in a vacuum...
people sometimes work better
when they are working through things
and exchanging things with each other... 
people who have spent too much time
seeing others only on zoom
have to take some time to take a step back,
to take a step out of a frame,
and to meet people outside
of the four walls, the ceiling,
and the floor of a room.

People are capable of perceiving
multiple layers of life at once -
but when it comes to understanding
all sides and all depths of something
it can take some time to gain
enough experience and wisdom
for them give back a learned, measured,
and an intelligible response...
people are willing to give a little
to get alot -
but some people do not want to wait
for what they expect is coming to them.

People live in worlds of their own making
that overlap with the internal
and the external worlds of others...
some people are happy to talk,
some people are happy to listen -
but most people are unwilling to
talk from the heart,
to listen with more than their ears,
to think about anything or anybody
other themselves,
because they are just waiting for their time to shine;
however, there are those people
whom we have all met,
who we may have known for years
or perhaps we only knew for a short time,
who know the true meaning of give and take -
because they can always cut through
the static of chaos and find the light
hiding behind the darkness of lies
that some people like to tell -
like some kind of truth seeker
with the profound gift of true empathy.

My Poem “Zen”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , 
For there to be white,
there must and black...
for there to be light,
there must be dark...
for there to yin
there must be a yang...
for there to be stars, heat,
and life on any given planet,
there must be the cold and hostile
vaccum of space for the two opposing
forces of nature - life and death -
to have their way and test the limits
and the extremes of their own potential...
for good to prevail
there must be evil to vanquish...
for hope to win in the end
there must be the shadow of doubt
to sometimes struggle with...
for the best of the best to be crowned
there must be ups and downs
from which lessons are learned
which inspire others down the road
who are on their own journey of self-discovery...
for the entirety of this version of the universe
there has existed both
the beginning and the end,
the start and the finish,
the Go and the Stop,
the found and the lost -
but there are places where and when
the interconnected consciousness
of all living things communicates
with one another consciously
as well as unconsciously,
that some have even reported
to have visited and returned from
feeling changed and brand new:
nirvana, heaven, Eden,
space, the frontier, the edge,
high above the clouds
or deep below the ocean -
after which they can both perceive
and understand forever that
the balance that keeps the wheels
of existence rolling as serenely
as a sphere of energy spinning through space,
that is both perfect and imperfect at the same time,
would have to be one of the most
wonderful symbols in existence
that captures the true essence
of what it means to be zen.

My Poem “Embraced”

Mark Hastings life, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
Everybody wants to live in hope
when they are awake...
everybody wants to dream
of infinite possibilities when they asleep...
everybody sees things that for some reason
they instantly take to their heart and love...
everybody - whether they remember or not -
experiences internal moments of freedom
during which they may have imagined
that they had the gift to be able to fly,
or perhaps talk to someone living or dead -
someone who they may know, or someone
who they may have always wanted to meet.

Everybody is sometimes their own worst critic...
everybody, most of the time,
wants themselves to be a winner...
everybody has something that they
are meant to receive and to give...
everyday everybody comes up with multiple ideas,
but to be able self-actualize an idea
and see it jump from someone's mind onto a page,
and then perhaps become tangible
and seemingly "more real",
sometimes creators need to risk a part of themselves
if they truly want to see their dreams delivered.

Everybody will succeed, and everybody will fail...
everybody will find themselves throughout
their life in need of something or someone,
and everybody will sometimes find themselves
inextricably walking in circles and figuratively
chasing their own tails...
everybody has to eat... everybody has to drink...
everybody has to breathe... everybody has to sleep...
everybody sometimes has to be the chaser
and everybody sometimes has to be the chased...
everybody sometimes has to be the embracer
and sometimes everybody needs to be the embraced.

My Poem “Let it out”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
It always feels good to reconnect...
it always feels good to go back
to somewhere you haven't been in a while...
it is always good to see people who you
have always felt a connection with...
it always feels good to do something
you haven't done for a while,
but from the moment that you
start doing something again,
or from the moment that you
see someone again,
it feels like no time has passed -
because almost immediately
your muscle memory starts to kick in
and deeply ingrained instincts begin to rise
to the surface of your mind palpably fast.

It always feels good to pick up
and read a book that you haven't
read since you were a child
and instantly notice certain details
about certain characters that you
might have previously missed -
and, because of the intervening time,
it is as if the way that you once imagined
people to appear in your minds eye
has changed and evolved just as we all change
throughout the many chapter of our life...
it always feels good to hear a song
that will always define an important
moment in your life that ever time you hear it
has the power to be able to transport you
back in time to when and to where
you felt affected by it for the first time.

It always feels good to start
a new adventure that you immediately know
will be filled with experiences
that will shape you, will mould you,
and ultimately caste you in such
a fundamental way that going forwards
nothing will ever be the same...
it always feels good to open your mind...
it always feels good to let your thoughts
and your ideas speak for themselves...
it always feels good to find others like us
so that we do not feel like we are alone...
it always feels good to not have to worry
and to feel free to let whatever
is inside of us all out.

My Poem “Unbreakable Bond”

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , ,

On Christmas evening,
as my family and I gathered together
around the hearth of our burning fire,
while enjoying some family time with one another,
I knew that after this day
nothing would ever be the same again
and we would never again
be able do this in the same way:
enjoy a Christmas meal together,
pull crackers with one another,
sit watching a favourite Christmas film of ours –
because what is going to happen next
will be unlike anything that either of us
have felt, heard, or seen before.

Every moment is unique,
every family has their own story,
every new day is a new dawn,
every time you wake up every day
we all have to reset the clock –
just as every player has to do the same
after they move a piece on a chessboard –
and adapt to whatever life has in store:
all the twists, the turns, the corners,
and the constant lessons that we
have to learn from like the constant
students of life’s school that we are.

Next year will be both the end
of one long chapter as well as
the beginning of another stage in life
that will impact so many peoples’ fate…
very soon there will be a sea change
and all predictions of the future
that have been shared will have to be remade;
however, even though I know
some things will be different,
I know now more than ever
that my family and I will always
have an unbreakable bond between us
that is unlike any other in so many
phenomenal and wonderful ways.

My Poem “The God Frequency”

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When we want to make something
a reality we often think about
something more, we often talk
about something more,
and we often look for and see
signs that indicate that the time is right
for what we want to manifest before us,
like a stream of sunlight from above,
and there are times when we all
receive messages on a specific frequency –
the same one that the universe vibrates on –
that our brain interprets in many ways,
which is this celestial music
that has influenced and inspired
many artists and many musicians
to allow their gifts to shine
upon the medium before them
in order for them to capture the energy
within them that often harmonizes
and resonates with the source of
all life that brought about
all the forces in existence.

Our minds are multi-dimensional…
when we dream we are able to
dive deep and explore the world within us
that lies below the surface of
the ocean of reality and consciousness…
the sound of someone’s voice
can be sometimes be enough to
open up a door, a window,
a pathway within our minds –
especially the mind of a child –
just enough for people to feel
compelled to feel comfortable
allowing themselves to drift away…
the sounds of nature – whether the sound
of waves crashing again a shore,
the sound of the wind blowing
through the branches of trees,
or perhaps to sound of raindrops
falling upon a window pane –
can effect people so fundamentally
and can generate great fountains of
strength and inner calmness.

There are some instruments
whose voice speaks lounder
and penetrates deeper into a person’s soul
than others which also has the ability
to bless insight upon whomever is their
player and whomever is their audience…
nothing is ever truly lost because
everything comes back around
again eventually…
planets, stars, people, subatomic particles,
thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams
have their own sounds that
reverberate around them,
and everything and everybody
interacts with each other
like the rippling waves upon a sea –
and this connection that connects
every living thing to one another
is a divine network and broadcast
that is often referred to as
“The God Frequency”.

Happy National Read A Book Day 2020!

Mark Hastings books, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy National Read A Book Day! 📚📖 I know that not that many people seem to read books these days, like they used to; however, in times like now – when reality seems like a fantasy that we wish would come to an end and revert back to how things used to be – everybody needs some kind of escapism in order to remove themselves for a small amount of time each day so that they may feel hope, joy, and wonder once again. Books and stories are one of the greatest forms of entertainment and escapism, because to fully immerse yourself within a story, you, the reader, have to become a part of the story as the imagineer, the architect, and the artist who paints the picture of what somethimg or someone looks like with the power of your imagination by using the words on a page as a blueprint. As someone who is the author of ten books of both poetry and fiction I am most likely biased when I say that books hold a power within, especially when we hold a book in our hands, that is unparalleled to anything else. Being a writer is an incredibly empowering experience; and as a writer, knowing that people actually read what you write and like what you have written is phenomenonal and humbling and that feeling of creating a connection with someone is absolutely inspiring. 🙂

My Poem “Nature’s Poetry”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Every day when I walk
I feel like I am genuinely
hearing the voice of nature
talk and converse with me…
every day when I walk
and I see trees with green,
gold, brown, and red leaves
I am always fascinated to know
the story of how they came to be
and what the landscape looked like
before there was this impressive
oasis of forestry and home to so many
types of animals and their families.

Every day when I walk
I feel a deep connection with nature,
and even though I am always by myself
I admit that I never feel alone…
every day when I walk
I stand upon hillsides
and I look all around at countryside
and I feel so much inspiration
and power beating from this place
that I call my home.

Every day when I walk
I leave my footsteps
in grassy embankments
alongside those of the impressions
left behind by animals like
rabbits, foxes, deer, birds –
and while I follow the trail
left by others before me
I always stop momentarily
to inhale all the aromas of nature
being carried on the wind
that swirl all around me.

Every day when I walk
something that cannot be described
releases within me and just like that
I feel like I am a child again
and running without a care
through a field as green as could be,
as if I have walked back through time
and returned to being an earlier
version of me, as I used to be,
and there is always this amazing
feeling of belonging that I feel
accompanying me whenever
I take a walk and I draw upon
the inspiration of nature’s poetry.